"I loved it because I represent the Bronx. There was a lot of Spanglish in the building," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who is of Puerto Rican descent, told Stephen Colbert. "I thought it was a good gesture to the fact that we are a diverse country."

"I thought it was humorous sometimes," she added, saying she almost expected candidates to start dodging questions in Spanish.

"Hi, I am running for president and I'm not going to give you an answer to your question," Ocasio-Cortez then said in Spanish, mimicking the candidates.

Not all the reviews of the candidates' Spanish skills were positive, with some observers mocking their accents and their grammatical missteps.

Real talk... just because you’re a Democrat and possess a Mediocre Spanish vocabulary... does not mean you should ever try to answer any question in Spanish. Latino people are not going to all the sudden vote for you just because you said “Hola” #CutItOut

"I think it’s important that we listen to, and speak to everyone in this country, including those who happen to speak, or prefer to speak, Spanish," O'Rourke said Thursday, explaining his decision to CNN. "If this democracy is going to work, if our economy is going to work for everyone, then everyone has to be included."

But Wednesday night was not the first time presidential candidates on the debate stage tried to employ the romance language spoken by more than 13% of the U.S. population, according to the Census.

In one 2016 Republican presidential primary debate, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio responded to a criticism from Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in saying, "I don't know how he knows what I said on Univision because he doesn't speak Spanish."

An agitated Cruz, who has confessed his Spanish is "lousy," fired back in Spanish, telling Rubio "dícelo ahora si quieres. En español, si quieres." ("Say it now if you want. In Spanish, if you want.")

Although he didn't use it in a debate, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush spoke Spanish during interviews and at campaign events during the 2016 Republican primary race, prompting criticism from then-candidate Donald Trump, who said Bush should "set the example by speaking English."

"This is a country where we speak English, not Spanish," Trump said in a September 2015 Republican primary debate.

In 1999, George W. Bush dropped a line in Spanish on the Republican primary debate stage in Arizona, telling Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch – in his iconic drawl – "Hay muchos hispanos que viven en este estado" ("There are a lot of Hispanics who live in this state").

"George W. Bush was the first U.S. president who thought that he spoke Spanish," Univision's Jorge Ramos told Esquire in 2016. "Most of the time, he was unintelligible, but voters appreciated that he tried."

Most interpret these candidates' attempts to showcase their foreign language skills as efforts to win over Latino voters. But a 2016 Univision News poll found that only 26% of Hispanic voters said that they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who spoke Spanish fluently, while 68% said it would have no impact on their decision.

But that won't stop candidates from trying to do they can to win every vote they can from that large and key demographic.

Ramos described it as "Christopher Columbus syndrome," where Hispanic voters are rediscovered in every presidential election.

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Democratic supporters gather outside of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, where the Democratic presidential candidates are go to debate for the first time in Miami on June 26, 2019. Ricardo Rolon, The News-Press via USA TODAY Network

Protestors gather outside of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, where Democratic presidential candidates are going to debate for the first time in Miami on June 26, 2019. Ricardo Rolon, The News-Press via USA TODAY Network

Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio, Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro and Sen. Cory Booker, D- N.J., participate in the first Democratic primary debate in Miami on June 26, 2019. Jim Watson, AFP/Getty Images

Moderators Chuck Todd and Rachel Maddow speak to audience during a technical problem as they host the first night of the Democratic presidential primary debate in Miami on June 26, 2019. Jim Watson, AFP/Getty Images

Gio Marquez, right, and Chris Willis prepare the Miss Froztee ice cream truck to give out free "Biden berry" ice cream in support of former Vice President Joe Biden ahead of the second night of the Democratic presidential primary debates on June 27, 2019, outside of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami. Leah Voss, TCPalm.com via USA TODAY Network

Chaunce O'Connor, left, and Xavier Presley, share their opinions on the corner of Northeast 13th Street and Biscayne Boulevard ahead of the second night of the Democratic presidential primary debates on June 27, 2019, outside of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami. Leah Voss, TCPalm.com via USA TODAY Network

People support their candidates ahead of the second night of the Democratic presidential primary debates on June 27, 2019, outside of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami. Leah Voss, TCPalm.com via USA TODAY Network

Entrepreneur Andrew Yang, South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., take the stage for the second night of the first Democratic presidential debate in Miami on June 27, 2019. Drew Angerer, Getty Images